Acheulean variability and hominin dispersals: a model-bound approach

Understanding the pattern of hominin dispersal is a fundamental component of Palaeolithic archaeology and palaeoanthropology. A widely held assumption is that bifacial handaxe (i.e. Acheulean or 'Mode 2') technologies evolved in Africa and dispersed into northern and western Eurasia via subsequent hominin migrations. To date, however, few formal tests of this hypothesis have been presented. Here, we use a combination of morphometrics, cultural transmission theory, and a dispersal model drawn from population genetics in order to test this hypothesis. The iterative founder effect (repeated bottlenecking) model is assumed to be supported if a significant inverse relationship is found between geographic distance from source along an estimated dispersal route and within-assemblage variance. The results of our analyses support the hypothesis that Acheulean technologies evolved in Africa and dispersed with migrating hominin populations into northern and western Eurasia under the assumptions of this iterative founder effect model. Based on our results we suggest that the occurrence of certain Mode 1 technologies such as those east of the Movius Line, and some assemblages assigned to the Clactonian of Britain, plausibly represent instances where effective population sizes in colonising populations dropped below levels where Mode 2 technologies could be maintained.